1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems that utilize computers for performing operations on data obtained from a user or stored data to produce a set of printed documents which constitute a project specific specification that is coordinated with a set of drawings to produce a set of plans and specifications for an architectural or engineering project.
2. Prior Art
Recently there has been significant progress in developing tools and systems for assisting in the preparation of construction specifications. A system known as "MASTERFORMAT", is available from the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), has been adopted as the standard for numbering specification sections and for specifying the location of trades and materials in specific sections. Further, several organizations and government agencies have provided master specification systems for the preparation of project-specific specifications. MASTERSPEC, is a system produced by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and SPECTEXT, is one produced by CSI, that are perhaps the best known master and guide specifications. Also guide specifications from the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, the Army Corps of Engineers, NASA, and the Department of Veterans Affairs are available on a CD-ROM known as the Construction Criteria Base (CCB) produced by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). Which CCB materials provide government and non-government standards, codes, regulations and guidelines, that are useful for specification writers.
All of the above have been developed to assist architects, engineers, and specification writers in the preparation of construction specifications. None, however, have ensured consistency between drawings and specifications. Still missing is a linkage to ensure that what is shown in the drawings is properly defined in the specification. Traditionally, this responsibility has belonged to the specification writer, who reviews a finished, or nearly finished, set of plans and prepares a specification that is coordinated with which plans as the final project manual. This part of the process has required extensive human input and is prone to errors and omissions. The present invention recognizes this deficiency and provides a system that minimizes the chance of human error.
In recent years several design firms have made attempts at developing keynote systems for drawings to provide some linkage to the specifications. A system known as "The New System for Formatting and Integrating Construction Documentation" (ConDoc), recommends an inclusion of keynotes on drawings which reference particular specification sections. ConDoc was developed by Onkal K. (Duke) Guzey, AIA and James N. Freehof, AIA. The AIA has recently announced "ConDoc for CAD" for use with AutoCAD, and versions for other CAD systems are under development. ConDoc is a partial step towards simplifying the process of producing construction drawings. One of its features, like the present invention, is the use of keynote symbols on the drawings. The symbols refer to the text descriptions of the notes which are gathered together and placed as a unit on each sheet. Once established, each keynote remains constant for any drawing on which it appears, and for the entire set of construction drawings. ConDoc, however, while it provides a reference for developing information for inclusion in the project specification, does not also provide an editing function as does the present invention for producing finished project plans and specifications.
Heretofore a number of manufacturing systems utilizing a data base for design and analysis and as components of a process of manufacture have been developed. Some examples of such are set out in U.S. Patents to: Aish, U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,449; Durct et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,464; Shebini, U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,146; Meshkat, U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,889; and Carver et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,488, none of which prior patents, however, involve a data base that is referenced to a keynote system and master specification to be human interactive for producing a finished plans and specifications for construction of a project.
A computer aided drafting system is shown in a U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,993 to Fitzgerald, Jr. et al, and three dimensional depiction systems are shown in a Ockman U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,318, and in a Japanese Patent to Kogyo et al, No. 0163,665. Also, examples of human interaction interfacing systems that include data bases, but do not involve production of finished plans and specifications for construction projects are shown in U.S. Patents to: Rosenthal et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,954; Shugar et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,473; Ferriter et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,376; and Brown et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,668.